


Snow

by Moonlights_Inkwell



Series: Jason Todd fics [9]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Batman: Arkham (Video Games)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Mindless Fluff, No pronouns used for Reader, Reader-Insert, gender neutral user
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-17
Updated: 2018-06-17
Packaged: 2019-05-24 14:19:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14956259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonlights_Inkwell/pseuds/Moonlights_Inkwell
Summary: Gotham in winter is bitterly cold, and as much as Jason may hate the subzero temperatures, he loves you more.





	Snow

Winter came quickly that year, and with the blistering winds and sudden darkness that settled at midday, came the frosty weather had begun early in the day, casting a thick layer of snow onto the pavement. Gotham was near permanently cold, but this was shocking even to the natives, even more so with those who weren’t native to the city. The usual rain had stopped its incessant hammering in favour of several days of blissful dryness followed by a heavy downfall of snow in the early morning. Snow was rare, never manifesting itself as much more than less than half an inch of snow that lasted only a day at a time, or the faint fall of barely frozen water didn’t stick at all, making this vast amount of natural snow seem massively unheard of. At least half a foot of snow had built up in the several hours since it had started, and a thin layer of ice had manifested itself over everywhere that the snow couldn’t settle. Mr Freeze was still in Arkham, meaning that for once, this was all natural no matter how strange that idea seemed. Dainty white flakes twisted and curved in the air on their decent to the ground, like frozen fragments of dreams falling to earth, making the city look serene and clean for the first time in forever. Gotham had always been somewhat disgusting to look at, the city was permanently somewhat dingy and dirty from litter and the sooty remnants of smoke and exhaust fumes, a result of the massive amount of people living there. Walls that had once upon a time been clean were covered in pen and spray painted on tags and penises, the office buildings, constructed of glass and metal, seemed all too fragile for the dangers the city held and always too close to being shattered but the snow always transformed the city into something ethereal and otherworldly. The walls now white from the build-up of ice and snow, the office buildings became ice structures with people inside, like something from a children’s book. It was as if snow had some sort of strange cleansing quality that came from more than just the water that it was made from, like the pureness of the white fluffy entity managed to wash away all of the grime that had built up over god knows how long. The snow, though somewhat bothersome, was a welcome change.

As he made his way through an almost empty park, Jason found it impossible to keep the scowl off of his face due to the freezing cold weather. His lack of a scarf or gloves- he hadn’t felt like he needed them before leaving his apartment that morning- seemed to do little but limit the feeling in his fingers but at least his leather jacket gave him some respite, he was sure that the icy water of melted snow had seeped into his shoes and that his feet were on the wrong side of having frostbite. It was seldom he could claim that the park was ever empty, in all of his trips, it had always been full of people, and the quiet was definitely a welcome change from the usual hustle and bustle of the city. The park was usually a mess of the usual loud mothers with prams who always seemed to huddle together around the playground, kids who had slipped away from school to hang around on the grass rather than waste their time in the concrete confines of ‘education centres’ and tourists with cameras much too expensive to only be used for holiday snapshots, and a day without all of them seemed perfect to him, not that any of those lot ever usually caused him much bother at all. Mothers with small children tended to avoid strange men, for reasons that Jason completely understood (besides, he didn’t want to be bothered by other people’s kids) and tourists usually only wanted pretty people in their shots of large golden canopies and statues or war memorials, not scarred, tall men who looked more likely to fight them than agree, and so he tended to be ignored by the average tourist photographer, something he was intensely grateful for. With that thought in mind he idly traced his fingers across his newest scar, paler than the rest of his skin and garish as a result of it. The snow twirled in the air around him, catching in the white streak in the centre of his hair while he walked with purpose through the park, listening to the crunch of ice and snow beneath his feet, but a glint of gold caught his eye. Bronze dancers clung to each other, covered in a liberal amount of snow, and chubby cherubim looking more and more like piles of confectioner’s sugar than anything else. All of the statues that he knew- albeit he didn’t know all too many- were intricate works of art; hidden away in the safety of museums; carved from marble and resin, but those across from him, stood atop half frozen water, fit that idea. It appeared perfectly constructed, designed to remain perfect forever, and its presence in a city that wasn’t made him feel a little on edge. Like it had been put there deliberately to juxtapose, whole and wonderful surrounded by trodden on snow and fat, ratty pigeons. With a shake of the head and a tug of his coat collar up about his neck, he started to walk once again, muttering about paranoia under his breath, very grateful that there was no one there to hear him.

Outside of the confines of the park, Gotham seemed its usual self despite the sudden dip in temperature. The commuters that were always running down to the subway stations still ran and caffeine dependent businessmen walking into Starbucks still bought over-priced coffee. And as much as Jason may have resented those men in all of their expensive suits and Burberry coats on a normal day, he couldn’t bring himself to care. Their reminding him of Bruce did little to infuriate him for once. Gotham, though he would never admit it out loud, meant a lot to him; from the boring and normal to the huge. But the snow meant very little to him on any level other than he found it pretty from a distance. He knew from the news report that he had heard on the little DAB radio that sat on the kitchen counter, between the toaster and the window, that the normal people were annoyed with the snow because it meant that the train lines were covered in snow which meant that life was going to be inconvenient for all of the ten minutes it took for the train to actually arrive. Heart rendering. Tragic. It wasn’t at all like the busses still ran and the traffic still heaved and he hadn’t seen two kids almost be run over more than once in the short distance he had travelled. Life carried on as normal, though the old women he spotted outside of the little cosy pub were less stable on their feet as they teetered to their taxis. Women with small children, bundled up in too big jumpers, hats, and scarves, that should have been in school walked carefully through the city centre on their way to some sort of toy store or movie for whatever new animated movie to celebrate the snow day. It was the little things out of the ordinary that caught his eye, like when a tiny boy with little mousy curls fell and hit the ground with a quiet thud before his mother scooped him up in her arms and carried him over her shoulder (too reminiscent of things he felt that he should have experienced with his own mother but never did), a man walking a ferret on a lead, how the sky looked a little less grey against the white that covered everywhere, and how the shops seemed just a little more packed than usual. But as he turned down a side street he couldn’t keep from smiling at the sight of the small diner he had been searching for.

He walked to the door of the Diner and pulled it open after letting his eyes focus on the glowing red neon letters over the roof. Pauli’s, though it felt more like home to him. Letting out a quiet moan as the warmth of the building overtook him, he stepped inside to the old building and smiled. It wasn’t much to look at; metal tables and peeling vinyl on the seats of the booths and the smell of burnt coffee, it was familiar. Wonderful and nostalgic, loved from spending hours at a time thereafter his mother’s death, taking hours just to eat the cheapest order of fries on the menu, and from going there after being in school or after patrol with Bruce, when his muscles were on the verge of sore and the shorts and pixie boots had done little to protect his legs from bruises and scratches. The walls were wide and far apart, making the room seem almost vast but the close connected booths and large, wide windows helped it to feel smaller, closer. The peeling seats and crumbling walls were all but a sign that Pauli’s was perfect in The Narrows, even if the food was good. Young and old, all merged in the building, and all of them looked absolutely in place and at ease; he’d only seen one person seem out of place in there but Bruce had always looked somewhat out of place no matter where he was when he wasn’t in the bat-costume. There; sat in the centre of the room he saw who he had been looking for and grinned, navigating his way to his favourite booth before slumping in the chair opposite from you.

“So Babe, remind me why we’re here rather than Bat-Burger?” He asked with what he would describe as an affectionate smile (The sort that would have frightened people who didn’t know him) as his partner stirred their drink, eyes narrowed in a somewhat accusatory glance:

“You want to go to Bat-Burger over Pauli’s? Who are you and where’s Jason Todd?” You teased in return, brushing the stray hair away from [e/c] eyes. “Bat-Burger fries over Pauli’s fries? Seriously? That Jokerised seasoning they put on the fries is fucking gross.“ 

"I should get that Jokerised stuff for free.” He muttered under his breath, eyes rolling as he leaned in, pecking your lips. It was stupid to miss someone he had been in bed with less than a few hours ago, but actually seeing you made his heart skip a beat, no matter how lame it sounded. A warm hand cupped his stubble covered cheek as they chastely returned the kiss. “You look Amazing.” He muttered against their lips and pulled back to watch the deep pink of their blush grow across their cheek, revelling in the knowledge that his words alone could do that to a person. It wasn't a lie, even bundled up warm in winter clothes, nose slightly red at the tip, you managed to be the most beautiful person Jason could even remember seeing.

“You’re alive now, you don’t need gross fries for free to prove that,” Was the swift response as you picked at the fries between the two of you- Jason hadn’t even noticed the fries. He smirked at that. You never knew how to respond to compliments, and that was something he'd come to expect- though it never stopped him from supplying you with them. “Besides, can't you just show up in uniform to get a discount or whatever?" 

"The man murdered me and I can’t even get a discount on fries without wearing my uniform.” He scoffed, voice affected with that sort of melancholy that could only be done by Jason when he was kidding around. “Sometimes I don’t want fries when I’m on patrol." 

"I have so many texts from you from when you’re on patrol that claim the contrary.” You laughed at him, pointing a fry at his face, grinning when he bit into it. “You always text me to bitch when you’re hungry on patrol." 

"Lies.” Jason snorted as he chewed on the lukewarm fry and winked at you, “You’re such a bullshitter-" He started, only to pause when he saw you rummaging through your pockets. "Babe. Put your phone away, I don’t want to see doctored texts. [Y/N]-" 

"God I’m fucking hungry, I’d shoot a guy for fries.” You read aloud from the screen, voice deeper in a joking mimicry of his voice, face lighting up in a shit eating smirk as Jason had the good grace to look down while he continued eating the fries you had paid for. “Bat-Burger is a block away, you want me to pick you something up, winking emoji, fries emoji, burger emoji, milkshake emoji.” You continued, only just managing to move your legs away when Jason aimed a kick at your shins from beneath the table. 

“Fine, beating up scumbags makes me work up an appetite, can you blame me?” He pouted childishly until a fry hit his jaw. “Hey!” He was lucky it had been there for long enough for it to go lukewarm, and that the only damage it inflicted was to leave a small wet, greasy patch on his jaw. When he plucked another fry out, he grimaced, squishing the cold fry between his forefinger and thumb. That was never a good sign. “…You waited long?” It wasn’t at all unusual for one of the two to arrive to any ‘date’ much earlier than the other- though admittedly it was usually he who was late. The two of you didn’t have the same kind of work, with you being either in class or working away in the library ( almost always arriving on time) while Jason always seemed to be late even when he wasn’t working. He tried not to think on in shame at the date he arrived almost an hour late to because he overslept during a nap- spurred on by nights without sleep during a month of heavy patrol. Somehow you never seemed to complain about his being late, but he could see the slight annoyance in [E/C] eyes, and it never stopped him from feeling a slight degree of guilt when it happened.

“I’ve waited Longer before.” You admitted a little too conversationally before sipping at your drink through one of those stupid swirling straws. Damn, he thought, that wasn’t the answer he expected, but he did notice how their eyes flickered from his lips to the fries as he continued eating.

“…I don’t deserve you.” He smiled brightly, continuing with his eating. 

“Oh, trust me Todd, I know.” Came your sarcastic reply before a fry hit your face. “Hey!”


End file.
